These comments are responses
to the statements listed below,
which were generated in regard to the Judy Mortrude
/ Nola Speiser Interview of 10-10-2014.

Innovative
partnerships can help low-skilled adults become productive wage-earners

OVERVIEW

Minnesota urgently needs more effective approaches to help up to
500,000 low-skilled adults become more productive wage-earners,
according to Judy Mortrude and Nola Speiser, program administrators
for MN FastTRAC, a special effort of the Minnesota Department of
Employment and Economic Development (DEED). Such approaches should be
carried out at the local level, bringing together employers,
educators, trainers and counselors, with the target always being
preparation for better jobs in specific careers.

Response Summary:Average
response ratings shown below are simply the mean of all readersí
zero-to-ten responses to the ideas proposed and should not be
considered an accurate reflection of a scientifically structured poll.

To assist the
Civic Caucus in planning upcoming interviews, readers rated these
statements about the topic on a scale of 0 (strongly disagree) to 5
(neutral) to 10 (strongly agree):

2. Further study
warranted. (7.2
average response) It would be
helpful to schedule additional interviews on this topic.

Readers rated
the following points discussed during the meeting on a scale of 0
(strongly disagree) to 5 (neutral) to 10 (strongly agree):

3. Innovative job
skills training needed. (8.3
average response) Innovative
education and training efforts are essential for large numbers of
low-skilled adults to become more productive wage-earners.

4. Efforts should
be locally based. (8.8
average response) Such efforts
should be carried out at the community level, not the state level,
even when state funding is provided, to give greater assurance that
local economic conditions are considered.

5. Partnerships
with industry needed. (9.5
average response) Employers,
educators, trainers, and counselors must work together in organized
partnerships at the local level to maximize prospects for success.

6. Provide
job-specific context for training. (8.8
average response) Both education in
basic skills and job-specific training should always be delivered with
specific careers in mind, so that the previously low-skilled adults
can be fully prepared for job placement.

1. Topic is of
value.
I have been involved with producing a transitional high-school-to-work
concept in the Northwest Minnesota area for youth, young adults in
field of entertainment, video production. The FastTrac Partnership is
something that I'm very interested in.

4. Efforts should
be locally based.
Yes, I believe this approach would be more effective when community
organizers can become more interested and personal.

6. Provide
job-specific context for training.
These positions could not be just in one area of training and
employment. It also must cater to the interest of the individuals.

7. MN FastTRAC
succeeding.
To cover the need in all communities, there is still much work to be
done. One of the areas that I would introduce that may have been
concerned would be: work retention and capital investment leading to
business development for people with special needs.

Don
Anderson (5) (5) (10) (10) (10) (7.5) (5)

Tom
Abeles (na) (na) (na) (na) (na) (na) (na)

There are 500,000
low skilled workers that can be FastTrac'd. If all those went through
the program, how many could be employed in MN? If they could all be
hired, what would the job vacancy be in MN

Of all the "job
vacancies" how many actually require post secondary education and
can't be filled by FastTrac?

The questions
that I raised about CC's friendly, unresearched interviews are still
unanswered.

Chuck Lutz (7) (7) (9) (8) (9) (8) (9)

Tom
Spitznagle (7) (5) (5) (8) (9) (10) (7)

Wayne Jennings (9) (9) (10) (7) (9) (10) (8)

Itís vitally
important to train people for jobs. Everyone wins. I can hardly
believe the figure of 500,000 needing these programs but like the idea
of fast tracking. Most school programs are too pokey. The soft skills
must be included as their lack is often the reason for failure by
workers.

Roger Wacek (na) (na) (6) (10) (10) (7) (5)

The Civic Caucusis a non-partisan,
tax-exempt educational organization. The Interview Group
includes persons of varying political persuasions,
reflecting years of leadership in politics and
business. Click here to see a short personal background of each.